1. Field
The described embodiments relate to techniques for controlling electromagnetic interference (EMI) associated with a power supply. More specifically, the described embodiments relate to techniques for reducing EMI by introducing a phase shift between the switching signals used to synchronously drive cascaded stages in a power supply.
2. Related Art
Switched-mode power supplies (which are sometimes referred to as ‘switching regulators’) are widely used in electronic devices because they combine high power-conversion efficiency with smaller transformer size and weight. Like other types of power supplies, a switched-mode power supply transfers power from a source (such as an electrical power grid) to a load (such as an electronic device) while converting voltage and current characteristics. Typically, a switched-mode power supply provides a regulated output voltage, which is different than the input voltage.
In a switched-mode power supply, the output current or voltage is regulated by switching a storage element (such as an inductor or a capacitor) between electrical configurations using a switching element, such as a transistor. For example, a pass transistor in a switched-mode power supply may continually switch between low-dissipation, full-on and full-off states, and may spend very little time during the high-dissipation transitions, thereby minimizing the power consumption of the power supply. By varying the ratio of the on-to-off time, the output voltage may be regulated.
However, the switching currents associated with switched-mode power supplies can cause electrical noise. In particular, the switching typically generates high-amplitude, high-frequency energy. While some of this energy can be blocked using a low-pass filter, electromagnetic inference (EMI) can occur. This EMI can complicate the design of electronic devices that include switched-mode power supplies because of its impact on other components in the electronic devices and the increased difficulty in meeting EMI regulatory requirements.